Humor is infectious. It lightens burdens, inspires hope, connects us to others, increases our insight, keeps us grounded, focused, alert, and happy.
Laughter is a universal language that stimulates both sides of the brain. It allows us to get messages quicker and remember them longer. We all learn more when we are having fun. Writing this blog is a creative exploration in sharing thoughts that make me laugh, smile, or think. Thinking is the source of laughter. Welcome and have a nice day!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Make Comics Not War

Herbert Marcuse, the German philosopher, sociologist and political theorist long-since associated with the 1960s counterculture, is reputed to have coined the phrase 'Make Love, Not War'.

The slogan 'Make Love, Not War' originated in 1965 during the midst of Vietnam War protest rallies and remains a popular and well-known anti-war phrase today. First printed on buttons, it has been reproduced on all forms of memorabilia.

Marcuse referred to High Art as "affirmative culture" and by this he meant that High Art affirmed the values of the ruling and powerful within society. It did this by defining a vision of perfection, beauty or belief, which the masses could strive for but which they could not attain.

For Marcuse, affirmative culture needed to be abolished so that a more popular culture could take its place. Marcuse did not claim that artists could produce High Art that would have a subversive effective on the ruling and commissioning classes, but he did believe that popular culture could. Essentially, Marcuse believed that popular culture had the ability to change existing social conventions and assumptions, which is exactly what is happening in the world of popular culture today.

In the world of popular culture, no one voice is as prominent as that of "The Maestro of Mighty Marvel" - Mr. Stan Lee - the world renowned comic expert whose Spider-man became the "most successful of all syndicated adventure strips, appearing worldwide in more than 500 newspapers."

Today, High Comic Art is fetching High Art prices at auction houses around the world. This Amazing Spider-Mansold for $268,875 last Thursday at Heritage Auctions. The sale comes after a record-breaking year for original comic art.

The cover for Amazing Spider-Man No. 328 illustrated by Todd McFarlane sold for $675,250 in July 2012, the most expensive price ever paid for original American Comic Art.

If that's not enough to catch your attention: the comic book cover for Tintin in America sold for a whopping $1.6 million at an auction house in France on the 2nd of June 2012, setting a world record in the sale of high comic art. (Source: Live Trading News)

Clearly, there is a demand for high comic art.

The original cover drawing to the iconic story featuring the death of girlfriend Gwen Stacy in a fight with Green Goblin.

"My Bad" (Disclaimer)

A number of the images I post are not my original artwork. Much is sent to me by friends, some I find on Facebook or floating around the Internet. Whenever possible, I site the original artist. If I cannot find the original artist, and YOU are the original artist or you know the original artist, please contact me so that I can site the work accordingly. I apologize in advance for any inconvenience. Please know, if your original artwork was used, it was used for good!